AIA|LA ADVOCACY REPORT
June 10, 2025
Call to Action: Architects & Landscape Architects in Civic Leadership
Los Angeles stands at a critical juncture, grappling with both a profound housing affordability crisis and the escalating imperative of climate resilience. These challenges demand more than incremental adjustments; they require bold civic leadership and an unwavering vision for our built and natural environment. As architects, landscape architects, urban designers, and community advocates, we possess the unique insight and problem-solving skills to transform these complex issues into a truly resilient and equitable future – one that neighborhoods can feel, see, and touch.
Our profession is uniquely positioned to forge pathways through fragmented policies, ushering in an era of tangible progress and profound optimism. It is our collective responsibility to proactively champion holistic and innovative solutions. We will leverage our expertise to streamline development processes, unlocking vital investments that put shovels in the ground across our city. We will reshape outdated regulations to unleash creativity and accelerate construction, designing communities where safety and sustainability are inherent, and transforming underutilized public spaces into vibrant, dignified homes. By forging seamless collaborations across city departments, we will ensure every blueprint quickly becomes a living, thriving part of our neighborhoods. The upcoming 10th annual AIA|LA Design for Dignity Conference is a pivotal moment to galvanize our expertise, project a powerful, unified voice, and demonstrate how our leadership can inspire, innovate, and lead Los Angeles towards a future worthy of its highest aspirations.
Actionable Steps for Civic Leadership:
- Advocate for Streamlined Local Approvals: Actively champion policies, such as delegating authority from the City Council to the Housing Department, to expedite project approvals and reduce bureaucratic delays.
- Expedite Utility Connections: Develop and advocate for specific recommendations to streamline regulatory and procedural processes with LADWP and other utilities for faster, more cost-effective project connections.
- Reform Restrictive Regulations: Identify and advocate for reforms to outdated building codes, zoning regulations, and other impediments to efficient and innovative housing development, including enhanced clarity for ADA/AcHP compliance.
- Champion Innovative Housing Typologies: Promote and disseminate knowledge on cutting-edge housing models such as panelized/modular systems, advocate for adaptive reuse, and reduce barriers for redeveloping SRO buildings into higher-quality, dignified units.
- Integrate Fire-Resilient Design & Planning: Lead the widespread adoption of fire-safe building materials, defensible space principles, and resilient landscape design practices in all new and rebuilt construction, especially in Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) areas.
- Optimize Public Real Estate Utilization: Develop compelling proposals and advocate for the strategic and expeditious utilization of city-owned land to unlock diverse, affordable, and dignified housing projects.
- Ensure Financial Viability & Expand Funding: Champion robust state and local housing funding sources (e.g., bonds, LIHTC, MHP), advocate for innovative financial models like revenue sharing, and actively address soaring property insurance premiums to ensure project feasibility.
- Influence Strategic Spending of New Funds: Actively engage with city and county officials to shape the program guidelines and spending plans for new local funding sources like Measure ULA and Measure A, ensuring investments align with efficient, equitable, and sustainable housing production.
- Prioritize Affordable Housing Preservation: Advocate for policies that count preserved units toward RHNA goals, incentivize local investment in preservation, and reform regulations to free up liquidity and expand funding options for maintaining existing affordable housing stock.
- Foster Interagency Alignment: Highlight and propose solutions for improving coordination and breaking down silos between various city departments and agencies involved in housing and community development.
- Lead Proactive Engagement & Public Education: Strategically engage with policymakers, presenting well-researched solutions, and actively educate the public, countering ‘fear of change’ with compelling narratives and successful case studies demonstrating the benefits of quality design and increased density.
Forging Los Angeles’s Future: A Compassionate Call for Visionary Design Leadership
Los Angeles, indeed our entire nation, stands at a pivotal crossroads. The cascading crises of housing unaffordability, deepening societal inequities, and a rapidly changing climate threaten the very health, prosperity, and mental well-being of our communities. These are not isolated challenges; they are intricately woven into the fabric of our built and natural environments, recognizing our profound interdependence with the living world. As architects and landscape architects, we believe the path forward demands not incremental adjustments, but a profound, compassionate recalibration of our civic leadership, grounded in visionary design.
Our strength as a nation has always been our capacity for innovation, our identity as a “knowledge factory” where grand ideas, not just trinkets, toaster ovens, t-shirts, and sundries, are our most powerful export. Yet, short-sighted economic narratives often ignore the immense “services surplus” generated by the brilliance of international students, who infuse our academic institutions and economy with invaluable insight and revenue. To truly understand our competitive advantage and foster collective mental health, we must embrace this intellectual bounty, viewing talent from around the world not as a burden but as a vital, enriching force for our future.
Too often, it is misguided planning and static policy, rather than market forces, that inadvertently bake inequity into our urban fabric. We must shed the role of “gatekeepers” and instead become “trail guides,” charting optimal, low-carbon pathways for investment that benefit everyone. This means reimagining our cities not as static entities, but as dynamic, interconnected living systems. Our 100-year plan must fundamentally shift towards design that deliberately cultivates extensive tree canopies for shade and biodiversity, integrates urban gardens and healthy soil practices for local food security and ecological health, and fosters a deep respect for the intrinsic value of all natural resources, honoring indigenous knowledge and uplifting all living creatures. Every decision must move us toward a future where our neighborhoods feel vibrant, inclusive, and tangibly healthier. The lack of momentum weighing us down in public discourse must give way to the audacity of our collective vision.
The transition to a 100% electric future, for instance, is not a political ideology; it is a fundamental imperative for human survival and planetary health. Our long-term prosperity hinges on embracing this shift, recognizing the massive economic upside and new business models it unlocks, leading to cleaner air, healthier soil, and thriving natural habitats for all living beings. To resist this evolution, as some entrenched interests do, is myopic. It protects a vanishing status quo at the expense of a far more financially lucrative and ecologically sound future, one where every inch of progress in optimization and efficiency is a victory for both our wallets and the intricate web of life. We cannot afford the false promise of “ghost story” fuels that perpetuate stranded assets and resource extraction.
To manifest this vision, cities like Los Angeles must empower design leadership at the highest levels. This is why we passionately advocate for an elevated, empowered Chief City Architect. Architects are uniquely trained problem-solvers, blending art and science to create comprehensive solutions. A Chief City Architect, with jurisdiction over our public facilities, infrastructure, and capital improvements, would be a pivotal advisor, championing climate action through robust green infrastructure, advancing health equity by prioritizing accessible green spaces, urban agriculture, and extensive tree planting within thoughtful design. They would embed a holistic perspective directly into the city’s decision-making, ensuring that every public dollar invested creates maximum benefit for the health, functionality, and mental well-being of our citizens, alongside the flourishing of our living systems.
The challenges we face are daunting, but the potential for transformative change, driven by compassionate and informed design leadership, is boundless. Los Angeles can, and must, stand as a beacon for the nation and the world, demonstrating that thriving communities are not just possible, but inevitable, when we choose to build for a future where people and planet, in their vibrant interconnectedness, truly prosper together.
AIA NATIONAL
AIA’s federal priorities are developed by our Government Advocacy Committee and the Federal Affairs team with the input of members throughout the Institute. We focus on the business of architecture as well as our values. We work to ensure that architects have a seat at the table when decisions concerning the built environment are being discussed. Our work is to advance and defend. Advance policies that have a positive impact on architects and defend against federal actions that would hurt architects. While we must address long-term issues we care about, we place emphasis on issues that are under current consideration by Congress and the Administration. We look to our members to tell their stories and to our strategic partners to drive home the AIA message in the Nation’s capital.
2025 Federal Advocacy Issues:
AIA Los Angeles: On Codes & Standards – Shaping California’s Built and Natural Future
Why We Care: A California Imperative For AIA Los Angeles, codes and standards transcend mere minimum requirements; they are the foundational levers for addressing California’s most pressing challenges – from our acute housing affordability crisis to the escalating imperative of climate resilience and wildfire adaptation. While ensuring structural integrity, fire safety, and public well-being remain paramount, we view codes as dynamic instruments to maximize critical policies such as energy efficiency, decarbonization, and the rapid deployment of equitable housing solutions. Our dedication to engaging with and shaping these codes ensures not only the safety and integrity of structures but also actively fosters the innovation and sustainability essential for a thriving, resilient built and natural environment across our diverse communities.
AIA|LA’s Proactive Stance on Codes and Standards With an unwavering commitment to promoting excellence and ensuring the safety and well-being of the public, AIA Los Angeles places a high priority on the strategic development, agile implementation, and progressive adoption of rigorous codes and standards. In California, this means actively leveraging the expertise of our members in legislative processes and policy engagement at the State and Local levels. We recognize that codes are not static rulebooks but living documents that must rapidly evolve to meet our unique regional demands for density, speed, and resilience. By proactively engaging in their own reform and advancement, we optimize the roles of the architect and landscape architect, ensuring our profession remains grounded in best practices while boldly pursuing the innovative solutions necessary to shape our communities. From addressing housing and climate action to health, safety, and welfare, codes and standards serve as the primary mechanism for transforming policy into tangible, on-the-ground outcomes that Angelenos can experience in their daily lives.
I-Codes: A Foundation for California’s Ambitions AIA firmly supports the International Code Council (ICC) I-Codes, recognizing their pivotal role in establishing a comprehensive framework for resilient, sustainable, and safe structures. However, we advocate for their continuous evolution and the integration of robust, California-specific overlays that directly address our unique seismic vulnerabilities, wildfire challenges, and urgent need for increased housing density. By aligning with these foundational codes, AIA|LA amplifies its commitment to architectural and landscape architectural excellence, advocating for standards that not only meet regulatory requirements but actively inspire and facilitate innovative, high-quality design solutions vital for our region’s future.
Driving Climate Action and Decarbonization Through Codes Given that building operations, materials, and the construction sector contribute significantly to global carbon emissions, California, with its ambitious climate goals, stands as a critical battleground for decarbonization. Architects, landscape architects, planners, and the broader building community are not merely key players; we are the primary drivers of this transformation. AIA Los Angeles recognizes the urgent need for systemic change in building design and construction practices to positively impact climate change. We are committed to advocating for and implementing stringent, yet practical, green building codes that accelerate the transition to a net-zero built environment, ensuring our codes proactively mandate the resilient, decarbonized future our planet demands.
AIA National participates in the following (including but not limited to) codes and standards development committees that address decarbonization needs:
ON IMMIGRATION & ARCHITECTURE – Design Excellence and Prosperity
The United States stands as a preeminent global “knowledge factory,” where our academic institutions are powerful engines for generating and exporting unparalleled insight, innovation, and expertise. This holds especially true for our architecture and landscape architecture programs, which attract some of the brightest minds from every corner of the globe. Our core exports are not tangible goods like t-shirts or trinkets, but rather the transformative ideas, human capital, and specialized design knowledge that draw diverse talent to our shores.
When considering national economic health through the lens of trade, it is crucial to recognize the substantial ‘services surplus’ generated by international student enrollment. The significant revenue from tuition, living expenses, and associated services directly contributes to our balance of payments, creating jobs and supporting a robust domestic ecosystem around education. For the architecture profession specifically, this translates into direct prosperity. These highly skilled graduates often fill critical talent gaps within U.S. firms, bringing fresh perspectives and global connections that can unlock new markets and expand the reach of American design expertise worldwide. It’s a powerful return on investment, far more lucrative and sustainable than many traditional exports.
Beyond the immediate economic benefits, the influx of international students profoundly enhances the health and expanded design thinking of our architecture profession. These individuals bring a wealth of diverse cultural understanding, unique lived experiences, and exposure to varied design traditions and construction methodologies from their home countries. This cross-pollination of ideas is invaluable, pushing the boundaries of conventional thinking and fostering a more nuanced approach to complex challenges like climate change, rapid urbanization, and equitable community development. Their presence ensures our design solutions are not only innovative and contextually sensitive but also globally informed and resilient.
Framing our national economic narrative to fully encompass this intellectual export capacity is essential. It provides a vital logical framework for debates surrounding trade deficits and domestic manufacturing, illustrating unequivocally how fostering and leveraging this knowledge-driven economy, particularly within the creative and problem-solving fields like architecture, is fundamental to America’s competitive advantage and long-term prosperity. Embracing this rich tapestry of global talent is not just an economic strategy; it is an investment in the future vibrancy, intellectual rigor, and global leadership of the American architecture profession itself.
The AIA LA & LACP Professional Volunteer Program (PVP)
Architects & designers passionate about improving the design quality of newly proposed projects throughout the City of Los Angeles are encouraged to participate in the Professional Volunteer Program (PVP), which is a collaborative design review program organized by AIA LA & Los Angeles City Planning (LACP)’s Urban Design Studio.
This year, we will be coordinating thirty-one virtual design review sessions, which will serve as opportunities for architects and designers to help the Los Angeles City Planning’s Urban Design Studio critically review upcoming projects throughout our City.
June 10 (10am)
June 17 (10am)
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Will Wright, Hon. AIA|LA
Director, Government & Public Affairs
t: 213.639.0764
e: will@aialosangeles.org
www.aialosangeles.org
